Prison terms handed to 322 coup plotters in Turkish military

By ECE TOKSABAY
Published on 22/09/2012 00:00

A TURKISH court yesterday sentenced more than 300 military officers to jail for plotting to overthrow prime minister Tayyip Erdogan almost a decade ago, ending a trial that underscored civilian domination of the once all-powerful military.

The court in Silivri, west of Istanbul, handed prison terms to 322 serving and retired army officers and acquitted 34 more.

Two retired generals and a retired admiral considered the ringleaders of the so-called “Sledgehammer” plot to topple Mr Erdogan in 2003 were jailed for 20 years, reduced from life because the coup failed, media said.

Their relatives collapsed in tears in the courtroom as the sentences were handed down.

The military has long been the guardian of Turkey’s secular establishment, launching three coups between 1960 and 1980 and pressuring an Islamist-led government to quit in 1997.

However, Mr Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party, which came to power a decade ago, has tamed military influence over policy-making and ministerial appointments as part of efforts to strengthen democracy, while prosecutors have pursued suspected coup-makers through the courts.

“To comment without seeing the reasons for the verdict would be inappropriate. There is an appeals process. What is important for us is that the right decision emerges,” Mr Erdogan said.

The ruling has the potential to undermine morale in the military as it battles Kurdish militants in the south east and faces a growing challenge maintaining security along its southern border with war-torn Syria.

“Turkish soldiers are not just being struck down in Diyarbakir, Sirnak and Bingol, it is here where they have been hit,” said Colonel Mustafa Onsel, one of the defendants, referring to three south eastern provinces which have seen clashes with Kurdish militants in recent months.

The Sledgehammer conspiracy is alleged to have included plans to bomb mosques in Istanbul and trigger conflict with Greece to pave the way for an army takeover.

Prosecutors had demanded jail sentences of between 15 and 20 years for the 365 defendants, 364 of whom were serving and retired officers.

Those sentenced to life included retired generals Cetin Dogan and Halil Ibrahim Firtina, and retired admiral Ozden Ornek, considered the ringleaders of the plot.

Those sentenced to 18-year terms included Engin Alan, a retired general elected to parliament as a member of the National Movement Party last year, and Bilgin Baranli, who had been in line to become air force commander before his arrest last year.

The Turkish military is Nato’s second-biggest standing force after the United States. Its main domestic challenge has been militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by Ankara, the US and European Union.

The past few months have seen some of the heaviest fighting since the PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of carving out a Kurdish state.